


Calm Before the Storm

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-06-08
Updated: 2002-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-15 12:34:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14790615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Josh and Donna's honeymoon in Hawaii. Very Fluffy!





	1. Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

**The Morning After the Wedding**

_Josh's POV_

I woke up this morning with my wife in my arms. Yes, you heard me right, my wife. I, Joshua Lyman, am married, and let me tell you that so far, I'm loving it. If you told me that I'd be this way a few years ago, I'd probably have laughed in your face, but trust me when I tell you that now I'd have it no other way. 

I'm laying here looking at Donna who is still sleeping peacefully. I want to wake her up and talk to her, but I restrain myself. She must be tired after last night and that's not just my ego talking, that's fact baby. Anyway, Donna says that I'm not the most considerate man on the planet and put my needs and wants above other people's. She basically told me this when we started dating and I had a habit of calling her in the middle of the night if the mood struck me even though I knew she would probably be sleeping, or if she was staying with me, I might wake her up too. Apparently, according to Donna, I needed to work on my being considerate of others skills, so she'd be proud of me letting her sleep right now. See I understand that both Donna and the baby need their rest. Of course it may have something to do with the fact that I want Donna to have energy tonight too so maybe I'm not becoming as selfless as I thought. 

I let my hand wander to Donna's stomach to rest on the small mound that has been developing. This has become a habit of mine and one that I see continuing until the day I hold our baby in my arms. Sam tells me that right after Donna and I return from out honeymoon, he and Ainsley will be going to the doctor to find out the sex of their baby. A couple weeks ago, Donna and I talked about whether or not we want to know the sex of ours before hand or not. Donna thought the surprise might be fun, but then she decided that it would be better if we know so we can prepare so we decided to find out before hand, but we have a little over a month to go before we can find out. 

Donna's had a fairly easy pregnancy so far. She still experiences morning sickness every once in a while, has unbelievably weird cravings at all hours of the day and night, and has been a little more emotional but nothing too bad so far. She still has as much energy as ever and usually doesn't listen to me when I insist that she rest, claiming that she knows what her body needs more than I do. 

Donna starts to move and I can tell she's about to wake up now. I brush her hair out of her eyes just as she opens them and looks back at me. 

"Morning," I say with a smile. I swear I am never going to get tired of waking up with her. 

"Morning," she says back and follows it up with a kiss. "So I take it this morning is better than yesterday morning," she says after the kiss. 

I believe the answer to that question is a resounding `hell yes!' "Yes, for a couple reasons," I tell her with a smile. 

"Do tell," she says smile. 

"Well, first of all, based on what we did yesterday, you are now legally required to wake up with no one but me. Secondly, yesterday I woke up alone. Let me repeat that ALONE. Whereas today, I wake up with a beautiful, warm and did I mention naked body next to me?" I say as I let my hands wander on her body. Gee, care to take a wild guess why this morning is better? 

"Oh really, you prefer it this way?" she asks with a grin. Believe me, she knows that I do, this is just her way of teasing me. 

"I'm thinking that yes, a warm, willing body it much preferable to a cold, empty bed," I tell her. 

"What makes you think I'm willing?" she teases but she can't pull off the serious face she's going for. I don't think anyone doubts that she is more than willing. I think eager would be the proper word. Well, I guess it is my turn to have a little fun with her by teasing her like she always does to me. I lean in and kiss her for several minutes until she is eagerly responding before summoning my amazing will power to pull back. 

"Well, if you're not willing, that's fine with me," I say as I move away from her and lean back against the headboard with my arms folded behind my head. Obviously that's not what I want but I can dish out the teasing just as much as she can. I also happen to know that my wife loves our time together in the mornings. She likes to get the day started off right. I have no doubt that if I wait a few minutes, the tables will turn and she'll become the aggressor which is always fun too. She's already looking at me with a pout on her face, just a few more minutes and I will achieve my goal. I reach out and grab the remote waiting for her to make her move. "Hey, look, we can catch CJ's morning briefing," I say as I flip on the TV. 

"Josh, do you want to make me feel like a neglected wife on the first morning of our marriage?" she asks. She knows that I don't really want to watch the briefing. This is just another of the many teasing games we have in our relationship. 

"Absolutely not, but you said you weren't willing and I've never been one to force a woman," I tell her. 

"As usual, you weren't listening. I never said I wasn't willing, I just asked what made you think I was willing," she points out. We're both looking at each other trying to get the other to give in like we always do. 

"Hmm well I don't know what would make me think that. Maybe how responsive you are in the mornings," I suggest trying to get her to give in. 

"Maybe that's just because I know you're easier to deal with during the day, you know less irritable and less likely to piss important people off, if you've had sex in the morning," she suggests with a smile. While this may be true, I know that's not her reason. 

"Well, we're not going to be at work today, so you don't need to worry about that so if that's your only reason, then we can have a nice, celibate morning," I say with a grin. I continue to look at her while she attempts to come up with a response. 

"If that's what you want. I don't mind waiting a few hours," she says, daring me to give in. Not going to work sweetheart, this is Josh Lyman you're talking to. 

"That works just as well for me seeing as how we will be on a plane in a few hours and I can convince you once and for all to let me join the mile high club with you and prove that its better with me than whatever gomer you were dating at the time you were inducted into it," I say. 

"No plane sex Joshua. I guess you'll just have to wait until tonight. That's only what, sixteen hours away," she says with an evil grin. Damn, there is no way we are waiting sixteen hours. 

"But Donna…" I say. Okay, so I might be giving it. Oh shut up, you would too if it was a matter of waiting sixteen hours. 

"No Josh, it might be good for us to wait until tonight," Donna says, standing up and getting out of bed, taunting me with her body. We are SO not waiting until tonight. 

"I don't think that's such a good idea. We wouldn't want to put aside such an important morning ritual the first morning of our marriage," I say. Trying to get my way without looking like I am totally caving. 

"It's only one morning Josh. Besides sweetie it was you who said you didn't care if we waited, you meant that when you said it, didn't you?" Donna says with a grin. She only calls me sweetie when she knows she's winning which lets me know that she's not giving in this time. She wants to see me cave. I just stare at her as she stands there, almost ready to admit defeat. "Come on Josh, you can tell me," she urges. Damn, she appears to have more will power than I do this morning. 

"I just…" I begin. 

"You just what? Didn't mean it?" she says, still smiling especially now since she knows I'm about to crumble. Donna could be a first class politician if she ever put her mind to it. She certainly knows how to get what she wants with me and trust me, not many people do. 

"I was just playing," I admit. 

"Oh really. What game would that be?" she asks. 

"Trying to get you to admit you wanted it," I say. See, at this point, its better just to fess up because that's what she wants and I won't get what I want until she gets what she wants first. 

"Didn't work, did it?" she says walking back over to the bed. 

"Nope," I admit as I reach out for her. 

"So I win," she says with a smile as she climbs back in bed. I prefer to think that we both win. 

**The Plane to Hawaii**

_Donna's POV_

We are on the plane and Josh is finally taking me to Hawaii. Let me just say that I won hands down this morning. He always thinks he can make me cave but that's just his ego deluding him. I know that if I hold out long enough, he'll be the one to cave. Hey, I wasn't the one who wanted to play the game in the first place, but since he started it, I decided that not only would I play along, but that I would win. He also tried to get me to change my mind about my no sex on the plane rule. That one didn't work either. 

"What are you reading?" I ask Josh. 

"The baby bible," he replies. This is Josh-speak for What to Expect When You're Expecting. He really is the interested father. He tries to keep up in the book with where I'm at in my pregnancy. It really is very sweet. 

"What are you reading?" Josh asks me. I hold up the Hawaii travel guide for him to see. 

"Making plans to fill the days?" he asks. 

"Yep, I was thinking a helicopter ride into the volcano, possibly some scuba diving, and of course some time on the beach," I tell him. 

"The beach…." he says, lifting an eyebrow. 

"Yep, and I bought a cute new swimsuit that I think you're going to like," I say. He really will. I picked red just for him. It's a one piece that I bought to hide the tummy I'm developing but its got a really low back. I can't wait to get to Hawaii and I'm pretty sure that Josh shares my feelings too. 

Sequel - "Problems in the Beltway"


	2. Calm Before the Storm 2

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

* * *

**Hawaii**

_Donna's POV_

When we got off the plane and had the leis placed around our necks, I thought we would be heading for a van to the hotel, but it seems that Josh had made other arrangements. He took my hand and led me over to a man holding a sign saying Lyman. 

"Josh Lyman?" the man asks when we walk up. 

"The one and only," Josh replies with a grin. 

"Thank God for that," I say with a roll of my eyes. I need to keep his ego in check. Josh just gives me before the man asks us to follow him. 

The man leads us out of the airport, and stops in front of a beautiful red convertible. Wow, I'm not a car person, but I can tell you that this is an awesome car. I've never been in anything like it. 

"Here are the keys to the car. The keys to where you will be staying are in this envelope. All the other arrangements we discussed have been taken care of and your bags will be delivered shortly. Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asks. Oh my god! Josh Lyman actually made plans! I am in a state of shock here. I thought the most he would be capable of doing was calling a hotel and making reservations. I even made sure that I brought a list of hotels with vacancies in case he messed up on that. I don't think I'll mention that to him. 

"Can you see that these things are taken care of?" Josh says as he pulls an envelop out of his pocket and hands it to the man. The man rips the envelop open and scans the list. Its too bad I can't see what's on the list. Okay, so I might be a bit snoopy but sadly its not paying off this time. Josh knows about my tendency to snoop and is making sure I'm nit successful this time. 

"I'll make sure everything is taken care of. My name is David and my card is in with the keys. If you need anything else, give me a call," David says with a smile before he leaves, presumably to wait for our bags. 

"Come on Donna, our honeymoon awaits," Josh says as he holds the car door open for me. I climb in the car and pull my hair back into a ponytail while Josh starts the car. If I don't, my hair will be a tangled mess by the time we get to the hotel and I'll have to spend a half an hour brushing it out and I don't think Josh would be in favor of me spending time that way since he probably has other plans. 

"So what hotel are we staying at?" I ask as we start driving. 

"I'm not telling," Josh says with a grin. 

"Can I guess?" I ask. Okay I already admitted that I am a little curious. Josh actually loves to tease me about this. 

"Probably not," he says with a smug grin causing me to stick my tongue out at him. "Feel free to give it a shot, but you won't get it," he offers in his arrogant voice. That's what he thinks. I did research so this shouldn't be a problem. I start by guessing the best resort on the island. 

"Nope," Josh says. Well, its really expensive so I should have known better. I continue to guess all the top resorts but Josh says no to all of them. After listing over thirty places, I begin to get frustrated. 

"Josh, are you lying to me, because if you are, let me tell you it is not a good way to start our marriage" I ask, thinking it must be one of the ones I already named and he just doesn't want to admit that I got it. 

"I learned long ago that I can't lie to you. I swear I'm telling the truth. You just haven't guessed it," he assures me. 

"Joshua Lyman, I just named all the top places to stay. You didn't make reservations at someplace like the Motel 6 did you?" I ask. He better not have or he will be having a very unlucky week if you know what I mean, possibly even an unlucky month. 

"Well, not the Motel 6. I actually got a couple numbers higher so I should get points for that….." he begins with an evil grin. 

"You got the Motel 8! Joshua Lyman I can't believe you….."I begin, ready to give him a piece of my mind but he cuts me off. 

"Relax Donna, I was kidding, I would never do something like that. I guarantee this is a place you've never heard of, but you'll love it, I made these reservations months ago, and trust me, the price of one night is probably more than the price of renting the entire motel 6," Josh tells me. Where the hell are we staying? I am silent for a few minutes since I don't have anymore guesses. 

"Donna, just relax we're almost there. You need to get used to surprises because I have lots of them planned for this weekend," he says as he rubs his hand up and down my arm. Fine, since he's obviously not going to tell me I guess I'll just lean back and watch the scenery and enjoy the drive. We've left the city and are now driving down a beachside road lines with houses that look like they belong on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. I grab the camera out of my purse and start taking pictures. 

I am turned around, trying to take a picture of a house that I think belongs to George Clooney, when Josh asks what the number of the house is. Why the hell does he want to know that. 

"Its 2526," I tell him while he looks at the card in his hand, keeping it out of my view. We drive for another couple minutes and then Josh pulls the car into the driveway of an enormous beach house. Crap, I can't believe he's making a political stop on our honeymoon. 

"Who lives here?" I ask, thinking that this better be a very important person and that either way, he's going to be making up for this political stop later. 

"Well, for the next week, we do," he says with a smile as he hold my door open for me. My jaw falls open in shock. Josh did this? My clueless Josh managed to arrange this for me? Its not possible. He must have gotten help from someone. 

"You did this?" I ask in disbelief. 

"Yeah, I thought something more private than a hotel would be better. I started looking into it and asking around, and look what I found," Josh says proudly. 

I take his hand and climb out of the car. "Nice job," I tell him before wrapping my arms around him and giving him a well deserved kiss that quickly turns into something more. 

"As much as I'm enjoying this, perhaps it would be better if we continued this inside. Wouldn't want to give the neighbors a show," Josh says as he wiggles his eyebrows at me. I laugh and give him a playful shove before walking with him toward the door. Just before we get to the door, Josh stops and tugs on my hand. 

"We're going to do this right," he says as he moves to pick me up. 

"Josh, isn't it our house where you are supposed to carry me over the threshold?" I ask. 

"Well, Miss. Do-everything-by-the-book, this will be our home for a week, but if you're going to be all technical, just consider this practice for when we get back to DC and I do it again at our apartment," Josh says. 

"Josh, with your back and all, are you sure you should carry me?" I ask. I really don't want him to hurt himself. 

"Hey, I am not too old to carry my wife over the threshold and my back will be fine," he says as he defiantly lifts me into his arms. Well, if he says so. He gives me a quick kiss once he's picked me up. 

"See, I told you that this wouldn't be a problem," he says. 

"Fine, this might be one of your better ideas," I concede with another kiss that lasts a little longer than the first. 

"You love all of my ideas," he counters with his smug grin, but truthfully I do love most of his ideas. Note my use of the word `most' there. 

"Not the kitchen table idea. When we fell off, I got a bruise that lasted a week," I say with a laugh. Its funny now, but it wasn't then, although Josh did offer to kiss it better. 

"That wasn't my idea. It was a result of talking to Sam," Josh counters, not wanting to take credit for that one. Just then, he begins to lose his balance. "As much as I want to continue this conversation, I think we need to get inside before I drop you," Josh says. Guess he's not as strong as he thought he was although he probably didn't think he would be holding me for the length of a conversation. 

"I think that would be a good idea," I agree as I reach my hand down and pull the key out of his pocket for him. We manage to get the door unlocked without falling over and Josh carries me over the threshold. 

"Welcome home Mrs. Lyman, just don't get to comfortable with these rich surroundings because I can't afford them on a regular basis. My budget might be higher than the one you used to be on, but not this much high," Josh tells me as he sets me on my feet and kisses me. 

"So are you going to show me this house?" I ask when we come up for air. Josh shows off the house with excitement since he knew his pick was bound to please me. Josh leads me through the house and then out onto the deck and the private strip of beach. 

"Do you like it?" he asks although its very obviously that I do. 

"I love it, but I think you missed one important room," I say seeing as how he didn't take me in that one. 

"Ah, I didn't miss it, I was simply saving the best for last," Josh says with a smile as he wraps his arms around my waist and walks me to the bedroom that we pasted before. 


	3. Calm Before the Storm 3

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

* * *

**Hawaii**

_Josh's POV:_

Okay, I admit it, I love Hawaii. Maybe I should have listened to Donna and taken her here earlier, but don't tell her I said that or she'll probably say that I need to take her to Paris or something. Donna and I spent our first day lounging on our private beach and playing together in the water. I was a little shocked when Donna pulled a beach blanket out of her bag that neither of us had seen before. It had a note on it saying `Trust this California girl to know that you're going to need this. Enjoy the trip. CJ.' Donna informed me that CJ told her that we'd need this but correctly assumed that we would forget. Well, the blanket did get use and I'm glad we had it since otherwise we would have gotten sand in some very uncomfortable places. This, however, is more information that we need not share with CJ, but I don't know if Donna is good at keeping secrets since I still have my suspicions about Donna sharing information about our night in the Bartlet's barn which I must say was completely her idea. 

I climb out of the shower and shake my hair dry. I had a lonely shower this morning since Donna woke up early to go for a run on the beach by herself. I tried to get her to let me come too but she said she wanted a little time alone with her thoughts and promised not to be gone too long. I fell back asleep and was reawaken a while later by a laughing Donna who had just finished her shower. 

"Get up sleepy head, we've got a full day planned," she said with a quick peck on the lips, but I notice that the spark is missing from her smile. I tried to pull her back into bed since I wouldn't mind spending the day there but she insisted that I get up since we had lots to do today. I pull on a pair of jeans and wander out of the bedroom to find Donna. 

I spot her sitting on a lounge chair on the deck with her knees bent and her arms wrapped around them. I walk over to her and climb on the chair behind her. 

"What are you thinking about?" I ask softly. 

"How much my life has changed in the past six months. Six months ago, we were just friends and now we're married and having a baby in less than six months," Donna says as she turns around and looks at me. 

"Yeah, its pretty amazing," I say with a kiss. My life has changed in unbelievable ways but I love everyone of them. 

"Are you afraid of what's going to happen when we have this baby?" she asks me as she turns her head around to look at me. 

"No. Donna, this is you and me. We can handle anything, and this is going to be fun. I can't wait for us to have this baby," I say and then a thought occurs to me. "Donna, are you afraid of having this baby?" 

"I'm afraid of not having this baby," she confesses in a soft voice. What? 

"Donna, I don't understand. Why would worry about something like that?" I ask in disbelief. 

"Josh, you know I only have one brother, but my mom had six pregnancies. Miscarriages are common in my family," she says quietly. She never mentioned this to me before. "Josh, I'm so scared," she confesses. This isn't right. My Donna is never scared. From the look in her eyes, I think she's been afraid for a long time and just didn't want to tell me. 

"We're going to make sure you have the best doctors money can buy and I'll be holding your hand the whole time. Nothing bad is going to happen to you or our baby, but Donna no matter what, I know we're going to pull through. You're the strongest person I know," I tell her. I really want to set her mind at ease but I'm not exactly sure how. She squeezes my hand, but the worry doesn't fade from her face. "Donnatella, what made you think about this today?" 

"Because of the date. My mom had her last miscarriage on this day. I don't want that to be me," Donna says. Well that explains it. 

"Donna honey, that's not going to be you. That was over twenty years ago. Medicine has improved. You're going to be fine, I promise, and now that I know this, we'll make sure that the doctor watches everything even more carefully" I say as I wrap her in a tight embrace and try to reassure her. 

"Joshua, even you can't promise that everything is going to be okay," she says in a soft voice. I hold her even tighter. 

"Yes, Donna I can. I promise that won't happen. You saw to it that I made it though and I'm going to make sure you do too. You and our baby are going to be fine," I tell her with conviction. That is not going to happen. Please, believe me Donna. "This baby is part you and part me, I don't know any two people that could make a stronger baby. This baby has both our strength, isn't that right, baby?" I say as I lean my head down to her stomach and place my hand protectively over her small swell there and pray that I'm right, that our baby will be fine. 

"Josh…." Donna begins with a soft smile, and I think the worry is beginning to fade away for a while. 

"I know, I know, the baby can't hear me," I say since she always tells me that when I talk to the baby even though I always ignore her and continue talking anyway. She teases that this is because I never get tired of hearing my own voice. Its true that I don't, but I talk to the baby to establish a connection. 

"That wasn't what I was going to say. I was going to tell you that I started talking to the baby too," Donna informs me with a smile and I know its because she wants that connection to. 

"What do you tell the baby?" I ask with interest. 

"Not to worry, everything is going to be fine," she says. 

"You should listen to yourself Donnatella. Everything is going to be fine," I tell her and place a soft kiss on her forehead. 

"I wish we had something to called it other than baby. We can't even call it he or she we have to say `it'" Donna complains. 

"Four more weeks and then we'll know," I say with a smile. 

"Ainsley gets to find out next week," Donna pouts. 

"Yeah, well she and Sam got a head start on us, but only by about a month," I say. 

"Josh, if you could pick, would you want a girl or a boy?" Donna asks me. 

"I would love either one," I tell her truthfully. I'm so glad Donna seems to have cheered up. "Hey, I've got an idea," I say. 

"What?" Donna asks. 

"Well actually its not so much an idea as a rule," I say. 

"Joshua, if this is you trying to get you `no clothes for a week' rule, I'm going to say no again," Donna says with a smile. 

"No this is my new `only happy thoughts for a week rule.' This is our honeymoon, and I'm allowing only happy thoughts for the duration of it," I say. 

"I think that is a rule I can live with," Donna says with a grin. 

"Good," I say with a kiss. "Now what are these big plans for the day that you used to get me out of bed?" I ask. 

"We're going on a helicopter trip into the volcano," Donna says with excitement. 

"Sounds great. Did you have breakfast?" I ask as I pull her up out of the chair. 

"No," she admits. 

"Well, come on, let's get you fed and then get to the launch pad," I say. "Well, come on, let's get you fed and then get to the launch pad," I say. 


	4. Calm Before the Storm 4

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

* * *

**Hawaii – The Next Day**

_Donna's POV:_

Yesterday was hard for me, but Josh really did a wonderful job in helping me ease my fears. Of course I've know all along that miscarriages are common in my family but yesterday just brought it all home for me. I thought the run by myself would help, but it didn't. I didn't want to worry Josh because I didn't want him freaking out. I guess I should have given him more credit because he really did say all the right things. 

After Josh instituted his new rule, we had a great day. Josh let me chatter on and on about volcano trivia without complaining once. We had an afternoon picnic and then walked around the volcano. In the evening, we went out for dinner and dancing before coming back home. 

Right now I'm lying in bed watching Josh sleep. I think he's making up for lack for sleep these past three years in the White House, but then again he may just be sleeping in since we haven't been getting to sleep until very late. I run my fingers through his hair thinking how peaceful he looks while he sleeps. 

I want to let him sleep but my stomach starts growling so I'm guessing the baby is hungry. I much prefer the baby announcing its presence in the morning this way instead of causing me to throw up which still happens ever once in a while. My stomach growls again. 

"Okay baby I get the point. Just give me a minute to wake your father up and I'm sure he'll be ready to get you food," I say to my stomach. Okay, I will admit this talking to the baby thing is comforting. 

I lean in and kiss Josh, my favorite and most successful way of waking him up. It doesn't fail me this time. Within seconds he's kissing me back. For a few minutes I forget why I woke him up and concentrate only on kissing Josh. Then my stomach growls again as the baby is demanding to be fed. I pull back from Josh and look at my stomach. 

"Alright, you've made your point," I say. Heaven help me because I have a feeling this baby is going to be just as demanding as Josh. 

"Is my baby hungry?" Josh asks as he puts his hand on my stomach. Now, I know Josh is going to be a great father, but he's going to spoil this child. 

"Yes, and its being very demanding about it. Its just as stubborn as you," I accuse but this only causes Josh to give me a big dimpled grin. 

"The Lyman blood runs true," he tells me with a wink. "Come on, we better getting your mom some food before she blames me for her growling stomach again," Josh tells my stomach with a laugh as he hauls me out of bed. 

* * *

_At Breakfast_

"God Donna, you can eat as much as Ainsley now," Josh teases. I just stick my tongue out at him and keep eating. I can't help it if I'm starving. I already ate my three pancakes, bacon, and harsh browns and am now finishing off my fruit plate. Okay, so I am eating a lot but like I said I can't help it. 

"So what are we doing after breakfast?" I ask since I haven't made any plans for today. 

"Well, I thought we'd go downtown and I'd take you shopping," Josh offers. 

"Hold the presses. Joshua Lyman is offering to go shopping? Are you feeling okay?" I tease. Josh hates shopping so this really is surprising. 

"Well, if you don't want to go, I'm sure we could find other ways to entertain ourselves," he says. 

"You're not getting out of your offer that easily. I'm always up for shopping," I say as I pop the last piece of fruit into my mouth. "Let's go," I announce as I stand up. 

* * *

Josh and I are strolling hand in hand as we wand from store to store. We bought CJ a hula skirt which Josh thinks she should wear the next time she does the Jackel. I don't think he's going to be able to convince her to do that but it will be amusing to watch him try. We bought Ainsley an assortment of Hawaiian fruits. We found a first edition, leather bound book on Hawaiian history for the President which I'm sure he'll love. Because of Sam's love of words, we got him a Hawaiian dictionary which Josh claims the President is going to try to steal. We found a Julia Child Hawaiian cook book and flagged the page with a recipe for pineapple upside down cake since it's the closest thing to pie for Toby. We are having serious trouble finding something for Leo so we decide to wait until the perfect gift presents itself. 

We keep strolling down the street until we come to a small baby shop. Josh and I are both drawn to the window to look at the merchandise. Josh stands behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist as we look.

"You want to go in?" he whispers in my ear. 

"Okay," I say with a smile. 

We walk around the store looking at all the baby stuff. Josh comments that shopping for the baby is going to make him go broke. He doesn't understand how clothing that small can be that expensive. We decide to buy the baby a few souvenirs from Hawaii since everyone else is getting something. 

"Isn't this the cutest thing," I say, holding up a baby sized Hawaii dress. 

"But we don't know if we having a girl and you're not dressing any son of mine in that," Josh says. 

"But if we have a girl, you're probably planning on dressing her in New York Mets apparel," I point out. 

"Donna, the Mets are for everyone! Of course a daughter of ours would be dress as a proper Mets fan. In fact, when we get back, I'm going to order baby sized Mets apparel for the baby to wear when we watch our first Mets game. Opening day the baby and I will sit on the couch together to watch while I instill in the baby a love for the Mets," Josh says. Okay, so I guess that will be cute regardless of whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I'll have to make sure there is film in my camera for that. 

"So we're passing on the dress?" I ask with a pout. 

"Donna, we've got a fifty-fifty chance of getting a baby that can't wear that," Josh tells me. I still my lower lip out as I reach to put it back on the rack. Before I can get it back on the rack, Josh's hand stops me. "Get the dress Donna. If we don't have a girl, there's a good chance that Sam and Ainsley will and we can give it to them," Josh says as he hands it back to me with a smile. 

We also buy a Hawaiian shirt for the baby, tiny scandals, a bottle decorated with pineapples, and a small stuffed dolphin. 

"So we got presents for our friends and presents for the baby. I think its about time we go get a present for you," Josh says as we leave the story. 

"Josh, I don't need a present," I tell him. I really don't. This trip with him is all I need. 

"But I want to get you one and I know just the place. I already checked it out," Josh says as he takes my hand and leads the way. After walking for a while Josh tells me to close my eyes. I do but I keep them open just the tiniest bit. A second later, I am in complete darkness as Josh hand comes over my eyes. 

"Hey!" I complain loudly. Doesn't he trust me? 

"I don't trust you to keep your eyes closed Donna, and I want this to be a surprise," Josh says. He keeps his hand firmly over my eyes as he guides me down the street and then into a store. He walks him forward a few steps into the store before removing his hand and telling me to open my eyes. I open my eyes to find myself in the middle of what looks to be a very expensive jewelry store. I turn around to look at Josh. 

"Its one of the best in the country. I even did the research," he tells me with a grin. "The specialize in pearls and tropical jewelry. I thought you might like a piece of Hawaii to take with you when we go back to DC." 

"Josh, you don't need to do something like this," I say. 

"I know I don't need to, but I want to Donna. I want to do this for you," he tells me with a sincere look. It never fails to shock me how Josh can make me melt sometimes. I give him a look that I hope expresses what I feel, the same look I gave him on that Christmas long ago when he gave me that book. He's just standing there looking back at me, but this time I can do what I wanted to do then. Instead of settling for a hug, I grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him to me for a long kiss. This time it's Josh who pulls back. 

"Donna, we're kind of in the middle of a store here," Josh says with a smile. 

"Don't care," I say as I lean back in for another, but much shorter kiss this time. We break this kiss when we hear the sound of a low cough from behind us. We turn to see the manager of the store. I turn a bit red, but Josh doesn't seem to be flustered at all. 

"I'm Josh Lyman," Josh says as he extends his hand to the man. 

"Of course Mr. Lyman. I'm Antony Davis we spoke on the phone," the manager says as he shakes Josh's hand. "And this beautiful woman must be your wife." 

I nod that yes I am Josh's wife before telling him to call me Donna. 

"After we spoke, I took the liberty of picking out some necklaces that I think will be to your liking," Antony tells us as he leads us over to the counter. Josh hold my chair out for me so I can sit down before sliding into the chair beside me. 

Antony lifts a velvet tray from behind the counter. Its filled with several very expensive looking pearl necklaces. 

"They're gorgeous," I say as I finger one of the necklaces. With the exception of my wedding ring, I've never had any expensive jewelry. 

"Not as gorgeous as you," Josh tells me. "Do you see one you want to try?" 

"This one," I say as I lift my favorite of the necklaces from the tray. It caught my eye as soon as Antony set the tray down. It is absolutely beautiful. Josh takes it from me and fastens it around my neck while I hold my hair up. I smile into the mirror in front of me as it shows Josh briefly kissing my neck by the fastening of the necklace. 

"What do you think?" Josh asks. I love it. It's the most beautiful piece of jewelry I've ever had on, but it also looks exceedingly expensive. 

"I really love it, but Josh can we afford this?" I ask. 

"Donna, you don't need to worry about that. I can afford this and I want to do this for you. No one deserves this more that you. Just pick whichever one you want and its yours," Josh says. He's in an unusually giving manner today. I search his eyes for any uncertainty but don't find it. "Donna, I mean it. Let me do this for you," Josh says. Well, if he says so. 

"I want this one," I say, indicating the one around my neck. 

"Then its yours," Josh says as I sit there in amazement. Josh pays the man and I wear my new necklace out of the store. 

"What about a present for you?" I ask. We've gotten presents for everyone else and he spoiled me so I want to return the favor. 

"The only two presents I need are here," he says indicating me "and here," he says, placing his hand on my stomach. Awe! I really am one of the very and I mean very few people who gets to see sweet Josh. Most of the members of Congress would bet money that this side of him doesn't exist. I really do want to find a way to show him how much I love him and how special he makes me feel. 

"Let's go home and you can unwrap your present," I offer with a grin. 

"Sounds like a plan to me," he agrees with big, dimpled smile. 


	5. Calm Before the Storm 5

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

* * *

**Hawaii**

_Josh's POV_

Do you know where I am right now? I'm sitting on the beach giving menacing looks to men that are leering at Donna as they walk by. Why you ask am I sitting on a public beach when Donna and I have a private beach back at the house. Its because Donna wanted a "real beach experience." She wanted to people want and enjoy the atmosphere. I wasn't too big on this idea knowing that men would be staring at my wife. Donna, however, was determined to get her way and she knows just how to break through my defenses. Basically she started kissing me and by the time she work herself halfway down my chest, I agreed to go to the public beach. Now I am regretting that passion-induced decision. All my suspicions about men looking at Donna came true. 

"Donna, men are looking at you again," I complain although she's told me repeatedly to stop whining. 

"Josh, I told you to relax. They're just looking. Its really no big deal. Men always look at me," she tells me. 

"Yeah but you're usually wearing more clothes. Can't you cover up?" I plead. 

"Josh, I am trying to get a tan. I think covering up would be counter productive," Donna rationally explains as she rolls her eyes at me. As she is speaking, a very muscular man walks past and gives Donna a suggestive look. As I stare him down I can't help thinking that its too bad I don't know his name or I could cause problems for him. 

"Josh, I'm taking a nap. You should try to relax too," Donna says as she flips over on her stomach to go to sleep. Oh my God, this situation is no better! Now that Donna is on her stomach, all the men can see her ass. Donna has a great ass but I'm the only one who should be looking at it. I want to complain about this, but it looks like Donna is already sleeping. Maybe I can just cover her up. I stealthily reach over her to grab the extra towel, but Donna senses my movement and stops my hand. Damn. 

"Josh, don't you dare. I'm getting a tan. Deal with it," Donna tells me without opening her eyes. With a sigh, I release the towel. 

For the next few minutes, I sit there keeping guard of Donna so that none of these guys get any ideas. After giving a particularly harsh look to a twenty something guy who I'm sure is on steroids, my cell phone rings. I pick it up quickly so the ringing doesn't wake Donna up. 

"Josh Lyman," I say, hoping its not too important since I'm not taking my attention away from keeping men away from Donna. 

"Josh, what's going on?" Sam asks. Good, its probably not that important or he wouldn't have started with that. 

"Right now I am attempting to scare off men who are looking at Donna in her swimsuit," I say honestly. Sam's a man so he'll understand. 

"I hear you buddy. I took Ainsley to the beach a couple months ago and had the same problem. All she did was laugh at me," Sam says. 

"Donna is about equally understanding," I say. 

"She's sleeping right now, isn't she? Because otherwise I think I'd hear you being smacked about now," Sam says with a laugh. 

"Yeah, she's sleeping," I confess. 

"Word of warning, don't complain about it to CJ. She'll hit you and tell you that Donna is not your property and if Donna doesn't mind them looking, you shouldn't either. I disagreed and was called an idiot and hit with a file folder for being a pig," Sam says causing me to have a laugh at his expense. I mean really, you'd have to be very stupid to tell CJ that. 

"So what's going on back there?" I ask. 

"Not much. Its been a fairly slow week. Ainsley is beginning to have these huge mood swings. Its scary how quick she can go from laughing to crying to yelling. I even asked the President about it, but he assured me that it is normal and I'm lucky that she doesn't refer to me as jackass or throw a book at me as the First Lady did to him," Sam tell me. Thank God Donna hasn't had any of those drastic mood swings yet. I'm sure I'll have absolutely no idea what to do and may succeed in making things worse. I'm just going to pray that we're spared the mood swings all together. 

"You guys have the ultra sound next week, right?" I ask. 

"Yeah, next Tuesday," Sam confirms. "Apparently there is an office poll on what sex our baby is going to be, but I should also mention the same poll is going on for you and Donna." I'll have to check that out when I get back and see what people guessed. 

"Sam, was there a reason you were calling?" I ask. I like talking to him, but its not like him to just call to chat, especially considering the fact that I'm on my honeymoon. 

"Yeah, remember how we talked about setting up the whole thing with my friend David?" Sam asks. 

"Yeah," I say. 

"Well, everything is set up for tomorrow night. Just go down to the marina at 5:30 and everything will be waiting," Sam says. 

"Great. Thanks for setting that up," I say. 

"No problem. I'll let you get back to your job of scaring guys off. Enjoy the honeymoon," Sam says. 

"Hey, what are you working on write now?" I ask as I hear the keys of his computer clicking. 

"Josh, don't let this get to you, but it's a response to another comment by Anne Stark yesterday. Its no big deal, I'm taking care of it. Obviously we'd like nothing better than to go kick some ass but I just keep repeating that the pen is mightier than the sword," Sam says. Fucking Anne Stark! I run my hand through my hair in irritation. "Josh, don't worry about it, I'm taking care of it. Just enjoy your honeymoon. She'll still be here when you get back," Sam says as he hangs up the phone. 

I'm silently fuming about Anne Stark even though I know I should let it go. I close my eyes and try to clear my head of the world of politics for a while. It's the sound of Donna's soft, even breathing coming from beside me that relaxes me. Sam's right, this is more important that dealing with Anne Stark. For now, I'll leave that to him. I turn on my side so I can just look at her. As I do this I notice a man staring right at Donna's butt. That's it! I take a deep breath and try to calm down. Then I hear Sam's words in my head repeating that the pen is mightier than the sword and I get an idea. Obviously fighting is not a good idea, and to be perfectly honest, I'd probably lose, but I do have another option that might work better. 

I reach into the bag that Donna brought with us to the beach. It contains the few briefing memos that I absolutely have to read this week and a legal pad to take notes. I rip out a blank page from the pad and grab a pen. I hastily scrawl a note on the page and prop it up next to Donna and lay back down beside her to watch the results. A smug smile comes to my face as I see the next few guys pass us quickly after they read my note. It seems I have accomplished my goal of find a way to make them stop staring at my wife. Satisfied, I place my hands behind my head and allow myself to drift off into sleep. 

* * *

_Donna's POV_ "God, that nap was just what I needed" I think as I reach my arms above my head and stretch out. I open my eyes and allow them to adjust to the bright light. Turning my head, I find Josh sleeping by my side with a small smile on his face. This surprises me since I thought for sure he'd be wide away scaring off any members of the male species who dared to glance at me while claim that he was protecting me or some such nonsense. I shift my body a little to reach out to touch his face when I feel something brush against my side.

I reach out to see what it is and grab a piece of paper. I bring it up to look at it thinking it must be a page from one of Josh's briefing memos that got free, but as I look at it I find that it is not that at all. Oh my god, what was he thinking. Scrawled on the paper in Josh's handwriting is a note that says "The beautiful woman you're looking at is my WIFE. She's having my BABY. STOP LOOKING." I'm really not sure what to make of this. I find it amusing that he's so worried about men looking at me since he clearly knows that he's the only one I want. Besides its not like I care about his fan club drooling over him. I sigh trying to decide what to do. 

I reach for the note pad and pull out another sheet and scrawl a note of my own in my distinctive penmanship and smile as I put it on Josh's chest. I lean back to watch people's reaction to my note and smile as it causes them to laugh. Satisfied, I pick up my copy of Cosmo and wait for Josh to wake up. 

About an hour later, Josh starts to stir so I put my magazine down and focus my attention on him. 

"What's on my chest?" he asks as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Just a little note Joahua, like the one you left by me," I say. I see him searching my face for my reaction, probably thinking that one of those pregnancy mood swing that he fears beginning has taken over me and I'm going to hurt him. Finding only amusement in my face, he reaches for the note and reads it out loud. 

"The crazy man you are looking at is my husband. He's the architect of the President's secret plan to fight inflation and almost burned down the White House. If you'd like to join his fan club, there is a link to their site on LemonLyman.com," Josh says as I smile at my note. 

"Very funny Donnatella," he says in a voice that says he doesn't think its as funny as I do. 

"I thought so," I admit. "So you want to tell me why you felt the need to put your little note by me?" I ask. 

"It bothers me when other men look at you," he confesses. 

"It shouldn't Josh, because, and I say this at the risk of inflating your already oversized ego, you're the only one I want," I tell him. 

"Yeah?" he asks. 

"Yeah, and I'll even take you home and prove it," I tell him with a grin. 


	6. Calm Before the Storm 6

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

* * *

**Hawaii**

_Donna's POV:_

I'm lost in peaceful dreams. I bet you can guess what they're about. Yeah, Josh. I am slowly brought out of the dream world into reality when I feel a soft pressure of lips against my lips. 

"Mmm," I moan as I find my self in the haze between sleep and waking. I hear a soft chuckle from Josh who as stolen my mode of waking him up. His lips descend on mine again as I twine my fingers in his hair. I finally open my eyes to look into his. God I love this. Josh is laying on his side with his hand on my face kissing me while I lay on my back. I begin to shift around and start to turn to move on top of him when my legs come into contact with something and Josh pulls back. 

"Be careful Donna," Josh says as he indicates the breakfast tray that he just have just brought in here before waking me up and set over my legs. Awe, he brought me breakfast in bed. 

"You brought me breakfast in bed," I say as I look at him. Dam pregnancy is messing with my hormones again because this simple gesture has brought a couple tears to my eyes. 

"Well, well you deserve it," Josh says with a kiss. I forget the breakfast and concentrate solely on kissing Josh which in my mind is much more important, but Josh pulls back again after a minute. 

"Let's eat the breakfast Donna," Josh urges as he sits back against the headboard. 

"But…." I start to complain as I reach out for him. I'm hungry but I think I might be more hungry for him than I am for food. 

"Donna, you're hungry, I'm hungry, and the baby's hungry. I'll stay hot, but the breakfast won't," Josh says with a smirk. Silly man! Fine, if that's what he wants, I'll eat the breakfast. I sit up in bed and pull the tray up. I lift the cover off one of the plates and am assaulted by the smell of an omelet. Normally I love omelets but I don't think the baby does. God, I thought I was over this wretched morning sickness, but I think I guessed wrong because I am going to puke in about thirty seconds. I fling the tray out of my way and rush to bathroom. 

I fall to my knees in front of the toilet and grips the sides as the flood gates open and I empty my stomach into the toilet bowl. Seconds later I feel Josh's hands in my hair as he grabs my hair to hold it back while I struggle to gain control of my stomach again. I'd take the tears for no reason over this. Morning sickness is without a doubt the worse part of pregnancy. 

I finally finish and I lay my head down on the toilet seat hoping to feel better soon. Josh stands up and gets me a wash cloth to wipe my face and a glass of water to get the awful taste out of my mouth. I give him a grateful look as I accept them both. 

"I guess I picked the wrong thing," Josh says as he sits back down and puts him arm around me. I think he thought my period of morning sickness was over too. 

"Its not your fault," I assure him as he leans in to kiss the top of my head. "I love omelets, but apparently the baby doesn't." 

"We'll just have to find foods that both of you like then," Josh says as he brings his free hand to rest on my stomach. I give him a weak smile and nod but right now I don't think I want food of any kind. 

"Thanks for coming in here with me. I know its kind of gross," I say knowing that lots of men would prefer to say in the bedroom and avoid the morning sickness scene. 

"Donna, we're in this together all the way. If I could have half the morning sickness for you, I would. But since I can't, this is really the least I could do. I'm the one who should be thanking you for putting up with all of this." Josh says as he looks at me. "You're the great one Donna. Remember when I was recovering after Roslyn when I had an allergic reaction to one of the medicines they put me on? You helped me to the bathroom and then rubbed my back while I threw up. There was no reason you had to do that, but you did it anyway." 

"There was a reason. I loved you. You were in pain and I wanted to help," I say simply as I wrap my arms around him and we sit there hugging on the bathroom floor. 

* * *

**Later that day**

_Josh's POV_

"Donna, I look stupid," I complain. 

"Josh, you don't look stupid, you look like everyone else," Donna says with a laugh. I'm thrilled to see her smile after the rotten morning she had. 

"But I'm wearing flippers. I look like Scuba Boy" I whine. It doesn't really bother me but its fun to tease her. 

"Yes Josh, you've wearing flippers and a snorkel because we are going snorkeling so you don't look like scuba boy, but I reserve the right to call you snorkel boy," Donna says with a grin. She takes my hand and leads me into the water. 

"Wait," I say as I pull something out. 

"What's that?" she asks as I am ripping the box open. 

"An underwater camera. I thought you'd want pictures so I bought it while you were changing," I tell her. I think I right because I am rewarded with a kiss before we continue into the water. 

We spend the next couple hours swimming around checking out the fish and the underwater scenery. Donna is amazed by the colorful, tropical fish, but I'm more amazed by her. She so beautiful and free like this and I'm the only one who gets to see it. Of course she's beautiful in the office but that's nothing compared to her out here. We have a great time playing around and taking pictures even though I know we won't need them to remember this day. 

"Donna, we've got to go. I've got something planned for tonight and we need to get back and change clothes," I say when I realize what time it is. I don't want to be late to the marina. 

* * *

_Donna's POV_

"Donna, hurry up," Josh calls from the other room. I've been in the bathroom for a long time and he's getting impatient because he doesn't want to be late for whatever he has planned. 

"Hold your horses Josh!" I shout back as I give myself one last look in the full length mirror. I curled my hair and piled it on top of my head to better show off my new pearl necklace which hangs around my neck. I'm wearing a new floral sun dress which Josh hasn't seen yet. It had spaghetti straps and a low neck line. The dress hangs to just above me knees. It is loose fitting and flowing and perfectly hides my growing stomach. I secure my strappy white sandals and apply a little more pink lip gloss before swinging open the bathroom door. 

"Okay, I'm ready," I announce as I stand in the doorway. Josh had obviously been waiting because he's standing right in front of me. I think he likes what he sees because he jaw drops a little. 

"God you're beautiful," he says softly. 

"You look good too. Is that a new suit?" I ask knowing that it must be since I've never seen it before. 

"Yeah, I figured that since you won't stop calling my good one my Joey Lucas suit, I better get a new one that we can call my Donnatella Moss suit," Josh says. 

"I like that, except that I suggest we call it your Donnatella Moss- Lyman suit," I correct. 

"I like that even better," Josh says as he wraps his arms around my waist and we walk to the car. 

* * *

_Josh's POV:_

I meant what I said about Donna looking beautiful tonight. It amazes me that I've seen this woman everyday of my life for the past four years and she still has the ability to take my breath away. 

"Josh, what are we doing here?" Donna asks as I park the car at the marina. I drove here with the top up on the convertible so her hair wouldn't get all messed up. 

"I see this week still hasn't done much to quell your curiosity," I comment with a smile. I check my watch to see that it is 5:30 so we are right on time. 

"Nope, so tell me what we're doing here," Donna begs. 

"Come on and I'll show you," I say as I take her hand and lead her down the dock so where we are supposed to meet Sam's friend. David is standing out in front of a very luxurious looking yacht. 

"Josh Lyman?" he asks as we stop in front of him. 

"Yep," I say as I extend my hand. 

"And this must be Donna," David says as he shakes her hand too. "I'm David. I was a member of the yachting club with Sam before he left to work for the Bartlet Campaign. Welcome aboard the best our club has to offer," David says as he gestures for Donna and I to go aboard. 

"We'll be having a sunset cruise and dinner will be served shortly after that. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call," David assures us before he slips away to offer Donna and I the privacy he knows we crave. I take Donna's hand and lead her around the boat. She gives me this look like she's about to cry, luckily this is the good kind of crying although I don't want her to cry at all. 

We walk over to a couple of lounge chairs, but we're only going to need one. I sit down on it and spread my legs so she can sit in between them and lean back against my chest. I breath in the floral scent of her hair as she does. 

We sit there quietly talking, our hands entwined over her stomach as we watch the perfect Hawaiian sunset and sailing around the bay. The sun finally sinks out of view and soon after that one of the waiters on the boat appears. 

"Mr. And Mrs. Lyman, dinner is ready," he announces. Donna and I follow him into the private dining room where we enjoy a gourmet seven course meal. Donna manages to finish everything on every plate that is served to her, which amazed me because I am not able to do the same since there is just so much food. 

After dinner, Donna and I return to the deck and lay in each others arms under the stars while sailing back to the dock. When we dock, we both thank David for the wonderful evening. I take the top down on the way back since I know that Donna loves the feel of the wind in her hair, which she is no longer worried about messing up since we are just going back to the house. 

Donna falls asleep in the car before we get to the house. I park the car and walk around to open her door. I gather her in my arms and she sleepily wraps her arms around my neck allowing me to carry her into the house. I carry her directly to the bedroom and deposit her on the bed. Donna is exhausted so I help her out of her shoes and her dress before handing her a T-shirt and boxers. I pull off my suit before climbing into bed. I spoon up behind her with my arms around her. 

"Josh…" she says softly, attempting to turn toward me. 

"Shhhh," I whisper in her ear knowing how tired she is. "Let's just go to sleep Donna." 

"Mmm. I love you," she says softly. 

"I love you too," I tell her as I feel her drift off again. 


	7. Calm Before the Storm 7

**The Calm Before the Storm**

**by:** christina

**Category:** Romance, Josh/Donna  & Sam/Ainsley

**Spoilers:** Nothing specific that I know of right now

**Rating:** somewhere between TEEN and R

**Author's Note:** At this point, Donna is just entering her fourth month ofpregnancy and Ainsley is in her fifth. 

* * *

**Hawaii**

_Donna's POV_

Today is the last day of our honeymoon and I think it went by too fast. "Can you believe we have to fly back to DC tomorrow?" I ask as Josh and I are driving to yet another location that he won't reveal to me even though we've been driving for over an hour. 

"I know, but we do have a country to run," Josh says. I'm amazed that he thinks the country ran fine without him for a week. He didn't even bother to watch the news since he figured if something really important happened that someone would call him. Thankfully that hasn't happened. 

"I know, but I really love it here," I say. 

"I'll bring you back here someday. Maybe we can have a family vacation here sometime," Josh suggests. 

"That sounds like a plan I can get behind," I agree. I'm liking this idea of family vacations. 

A while later, Josh pulls off the road and parks in a completely disserted area. Where the hell are we and what are we doing out here? 

"Josh, where are we?" I ask as Josh grabs the bag from the back seat and starts walking through the trees. 

"Are you okay to walk a ways?" Josh asks me, avoiding my question. 

"Josh, I'm fine to walk," I say firmly, " but where exactly are we walking too?" I ask. 

"Gees Donna, all these questions. I thought you would have learned by now that you'll just have to wait and see," Josh says with a grin, causing me to stick my tongue out at him. He holds his hand out to me and we walk through all these trees with Josh holding the branches out of my way. 

After about 30 minutes of walking, I begin to get impatient to find out where exactly we are walking to, but before I can complain, Josh lifts a branch from my view and I can see our destination. What I see takes my breath away. Josh and I are standing surrounded by topical vegetation in front of a small secluded lake, complete with a waterfall. We are the only people in sight. 

"How did you know about this place?" I ask. 

"I called some people and told them what I was looking for. Some tropical deserted place that tourists wouldn't know about. This is far enough away from all the hotels and a long walk from the road so very few people know about it," Josh tell me. It still amazes me that he did research for this trip. "Plus this gives the added benefit of not having all those guys leering at you," Josh says with a grin as he takes me in his arms. 

"Because I get enough leering from you," I say with a grin that matches his own. 

"Yep, and I don't think there is anything you can do to stop that," he says before leaning down to kiss me. When we break the kiss a minute later, I begin striping out of the shorts and T-Shirt that I am wearing and change into my swim suit that Josh packed in our bag. Once we're changed, we head into the water. We stand under the waterfall, letting it soak our hair while enjoying another kiss. Then I decide to have a little fun so I reach my hand down and break the kiss a split second before splashing Josh in the face with a good deal of water. I back away laughing while he sputters and spits the water out of his mouth. 

"You're in trouble now," he warns me as he begins to swim after me as I continue to laugh at him since I had a good head start. 

"Not unless you can catch me," I taunt. Dam, he's a faster swimmer than I thought! 

"Did I forget to tell you that I was captain of the swim team in high school. I won state my senior year," Josh says as he closes the gap between us. It only takes him a few more seconds to catch up to me and I screech as he pounces on me. "Prepare to be dunked Donna," Josh say with a grin as he puts his hand on my head and pushes me under the water. He only keeps me there for a second before I come back up. 

"Did you learn your lesson?" He asks with smile. Yeah right! That little dunk didn't teach me anything. I grin and splash him again. 

"You asked for it," he says as he pushes me down again. I stay under a second longer this time, but when I come back up, I immediately splash him in the face again. He just laughs and I take a deep breath as he pushes me under the water again because this time I have another idea. I open my eyes and reach out to grab his swim trunks and before he can react, I have gotten them off his legs. I resurface and grin triumphantly as I hold up his shorts. 

"DONNA!" he shrieks as I laugh at him and hold the shorts out of his reach. 

"What? Like you said, there's nobody else here," I say with a grin. "I can play dirty too," I say as I toss his swim suit onto the sand. Josh, however, does not go chasing after them. Instead he moves closer to me. 

"So can I," he says as he captures my lips and starts tugging at the straps of my swimsuit. Oh what the heck, there are no people around. 

* * *

_Josh's POV_

"Donna, you've got to be kidding, there is no way I'm wearing that!" I complain. 

"I'm not kidding Josh. I'm wearing one," she pouts. 

"Yeah, but it looks good on you," I say, really good. She is standing in front of me swaying her hips, wearing this Hawaiian grass skirt since we decided to go to the luau on our last night here. She's trying to convince me to put one of those skirts on too. "It's a skirt Donna. Men don't wear skirts," I say flatly. 

"What about kilts? Scottish men wear skirts," she points out, sticking her lower lip out a little farther. 

"Well, I'm not Scottish," I say. 

"Come on, Josh. It'll be fun," she pleads. I shake my head since I am not big on the idea of getting into the skirt although I hate to be the cause of her pouting. "Pleasseee," she begs. Okay so I'm beginning to waiver a bit since she seems to want me to do it so bad. 

Donna seems to sense that I'm wavering because she leans down and whispers in my ear "Put the skirt on Josh. If you do, I promise you'll like the way I take it off." Okay ladies and gentlemen that did it, I Joshua Lyman will now wear the skirt. Yeah, Donna does know how to push the right buttons with me. When I agree to put it on, Donna does this cute little clapping thing. We spend the rest of the evening dancing, drinking tropical drinks in coconuts with little umbrella (nonalcoholic for Donna of course), and getting our pictures taken. I'm almost certain that despite any amount of protest on my part, these pictures will end up in the hands of our friends who will mercilessly tease me about wearing a skirt. Sam will probably be able to guess that I had a big incentive to do it. 

* * *

**The Next Afternoon on the Plane back to DC**

_Donna's POV_

I have to agree with Josh that this plane has nothing on Airforce One, but I told him to get used to it since President Bartlet won't be President forever (although with a little luck, he'll be president for four more years). 

Josh's and I woke up early and went for one last swim in the ocean before leaving for the airport to fly back to DC and real life. Josh is exhausted and is currently sleeping on my shoulder. I run my fingers through his hair as I watch him sleep. We had a great trip, but I really don't mind going back home, although you can bet that I'll be enforcing his promise to take me back to Hawaii someday after this baby is born. 

* * *


End file.
